Central Coast California Real Estate

The San Luis Obispo District Attorney's Office is warning the public about a phone scam that has been targeting elderly residents.

Referred to as the "Grandparent Scam", it involves a call from someone claiming to be the grandchild in an emergency situation, asking for money. In a recent situation, one scammer said they were stuck in a Dominican Republic jail and needed money.

The scammer tricked the resident into believing it was their granddaughter. The scammer also had someone on the phone pose as an "officer", who told the resident where they could wire money at the local Western Union branch. In one particular case, the resident wired $5,082, thinking it was going towards a granddaughter.

After wiring the money, the scammer called again, saying the money had been delivered too late and additional money would need to be delivered. After this phone call the victim became suspicious and refused to send money. The victim later learned that the granddaughter was safe and not in a Domican Republic jail.

The Federal Trade Commission offers these tips to avoid a similar situation:

Don't wire money to:

-Someone you know, in the U.S. or in a foreign country;

-Someone claiming to be a relative in the midst of a crisis and who wants to keep the request for money a secret

-someone who says a money trasfer is the only form of payment that's acceptable; or

-someone who asks you to deposit a check and send some of the money back.

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Half of the teachers at Cabrillo High School didn't show up for work today in Lompoc.

District officials say 29 teachers used a personal day because they are concerned about their colleague, head basketball coach Gary West, being placed on paid administrative leave.

West is being investigated by the Sheriff's Department for a fight with a student that took place last week on campus.

The school also postponed its "Back to School" program, scheduled for tonight,until September 16.

The Sheriff's Department's report on the fight has been sent to the District Attorney's Office for review.

 

 

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A golden eagle is back home in the wild tonight after near-fatal injuries just months ago.

He was rescued from Highway 101 near the Santa Margarita off ramp in February with massive trauma.

Underweight with a bloody eye and injured head, the bird's survival wasn't guaranteed.

"He was on the road on Highway 101 right here by Santa Margarita, and we think he was probably hit by a car," said Virginia Flaherty, a supervisor at Pacific Wildlife Care. "But he was also very thin."

John Green was driving when he saw the eagle sitting in the fast lane.

"There was cars zooming by him on both sides, and he just stood there," he said. "He was obviously in distress."

Green turned around to save the bird, putting himself at risk as he walked along Highway 101.

"When I was driving up, they were just zooming by," Green said. "But as soon as I was on the shoulder, they were trying to avoid the bird and put me in kind of a tight spot."

He took the underweight eagle to Pacific Wildlife Care. He was eventually transferred to the UC Davis Raptor Center.

"He actually went through periods of time where we didn't think he was going to survive, his injuries were so extensive," Flaherty said.

The eagle's six months in recovery are unusual. he kept re-injuring himself, at one point even damaging his breastbone because he so strongly disliked being in captivity.

"He would throw himself against the walls of the cage, trying to get out," she said.

The eagle came back around a few times after flying away.

He gained two pounds in captivity, putting him at normal weight, and spent the past two weeks building up muscle strength for today.

The eagle is young and is expected to be able to live a full life now; golden eagles typically live about thirty years.

 

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If you like live theatre, you don't have to travel to big cities for some of the best.

For more than 45 years, PCPA, or the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts has been bringing great actors and great theatre to Santa Maria, and Solvang.

And if you pay a visit, you'll see the PCPA also provides good proof there's no place like home.

 

I

 

t's rehearsal time at Allan Hancock College. Last minute run-throughs of an original play written just for the PCPA. Invierno opened last Friday and is a central coast twist of Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale.

 

 

"It's about love, and connection to the earth, and faith, and then I think of the loss of that, all of those things. And the consequences of that loss." says Richard Gallegos, an actor at PCPA. Gallegos is an alum of PCPA who went on to establish a career in acting. "I mean you don't get to work in spaces like this down in L.A. unless you're at the Taper, or other big venues, so it's a priviledge. "

He's back on the central coast to play one of the leads in Invierno. "Ithink Consequence is a big word for me. And then another word we've been using a lot is redemption. It's about redemtion. Is that a possibility.and if it is, what is the journey to get there."

Jose Cruz Gonzalez wrote Invierno, which means Winter in Spanish. "I wanted to tell it about the central coast. The story takes place here in this community."

 

Invierno,

 

incorporates the history of this place we all call home now. It's set in an 1830's version of the central coast. But the drama that unfolds is timeless. "The history of CA is very rich we have had always a mixture of cultures coming together a fusion and clash of cultures, always taking place here on the land and so I thought that lent itself to Inveirno." says Cruz Gonzalez.

 

 

There is a risk to staging original screenplays, when classics have proven great draws for PCPA for more than 45 years. But it is part of what makes this company so special. If no one will take risks on new stories, what then will be the classic for actors to perform centuries from now?

PCPA acts as a conservatory a school for theatrics. But it is also a professional regional theatre, that draws great talent from elsewhere,and graduates a steady stock of up and comers as well. Do the names Robin Williams or Kathy Bates ring a bell?

"T

here are tons are tons of actors who people may not know, but they're out there doing it, they're out there editing movies, or they're working in small theatred. Or they've founded children's theatres." Gallegos points out.

The PCPA offers a commitment to the arts in a time when that's harder and harder to find. And in the process, it offers up some great theatre, right in our own backyard. It's another reason, there's no place like home.

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Locals and visitors will not be the only ones enjoying the great outdoors this Labor Day weekend.
The California Department of Fish and Game says most rattlesnake bites occur between the months of April and October, when snakes and humans are most active outside.
In fact, on Wednesday a man was bitten by a rattlesnake at Montana de Oro.
It is an encounter most of us hope we never have, and while their bites are rare along the Central Coast the rattlesnakes are out there.
"The times I've seen rattlesnakes they've seen me first and they're usually leaving the scene," said Paul Reinhardt, a mountain biker.
The Department of Fish and Game says wearing hiking boots, sticking to well-marked trails and avoiding heavy brush can help you avoid snakes.
However if you do happen to spot one, walk away.
"Don't mess with it, don't poke it with a stick, don't try to move it off the trail," said Rocky Thompson, a senior wildlife biologist with the Department of Fish and Game. "It will go its own way when it's ready you just give it lots of time and space to do that."
If you do get bitten every second counts.
Seek medical attention immediately, wash and immobilize the affected area, and stay calm to slow the venom's circulation.
"The old lore about cutting open the wound and sucking out the poison, we don't suggest people try that, most people just do more damage than help," said Thompson.
Experts say there are steps you can take before even leaving the house. For instance adding a small portable snake bite kit to your first aid bag, could make a big difference during an emergency.
"They have little suction cups, you can use those immediately," said Thompson.
Some important things to consider while exploring the great outdoors.
"In this part of the country anywhere can be rattlesnake country," said Thompson.
In California rattlesnakes account for more than 800 bites every year, resulting in one to two deaths.
About 25 percent of those bites are "dry," meaning no venom was injected, but they still require immediate medical attention.

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There are some changes to the WCI program meant to be a healthy boost for local families. In Santa Barbara County, last year there were about 18,000 clients enrolled in WCI. It's the women, infants and children program. So far this year, there are around 18,400 people taking advantage. However, the county received funding this year for almost 19,500 people.

Magdalena Velasco has been on WIC for three years. The Santa Maria mom has two children. She said, "My husband is the only one that works. He has to pay rent and we have to buy food." When clients head to the grocery store, they now have some healthier options. They can get fruits and vegetables, that's wasn't allowed in the past. They can also buy whole wheat bread and certain kinds of tortillas. Velasco said, "It's good for the kids."

Caro Stinson, Director of Nutrition Services and WIC, said, "We want our families to be healthy. We think these new foods and the education they're receiving is really helping." The cereals on the program also are healthier. The iron content is how they're chosen. Stinson said, "The iron is necessary for children and especially for pregnant women because they tend to be low in iron which causes anemia."

As for who qualifies, there are guidelines. For example, a family of four who makes no more than around $40,700 is eligible. A single mom making no more than about $27,000 qualifies and that includes pregnant women. Stinson said, "We think there are people out there, families that do not realize that they are eligible." On average, WIC gives about $62 a month per person.

 

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A tractor broke a gas line on Thursday in a field in Santa Maria, shutting down a main street.

Santa Barbara County fire crews responded to the leak around 2 pm near Highway 101 and the northbound Clark Avenue exit.

The CHP says Clark Avenue was shut down between Highway 101 and Telephone Road for about two hours while the gas company repaired the leak.

The public was never in danger.

 

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If passed on the November ballot, Proposition 23 would suspend A.B. 32, a state law requiring lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, but those against the proposition say it would block California's growing pathway to alternative energy.

Supporters call it the Calfornia Jobs Intitative. Opponents label it the Dirty Energy Proposition. Either way, it has both sides fuming.

"At a time where, we are really in a hole. They're just digging the whole deeper, and we're really saying, let's be a little more sensible about this," said Executive Director Robin Hayhurst with the Santa Maria Valley Contractors Association.

"This is an effort by out of town oil companies to keep California addicted to fossil fuels," said Linda Kropp, Chief Counsel for the Environmental Defense Center in Santa Barbara.

Proposition 23 would suspend the Global Warming Act of 2006, which mandates retrofits to reduce carbon emissions by 2020.

"It doesn't eliminate them. It suspends them until the unemployment rate comes down," said Bob Engel, Vice President of Engel and Gray, Inc. , a trucking company in Santa Maria.

But to reinstate the law, California's 12 percent unemployment rate would have to drop to 5.5 percent for an entire year, something environmental groups argue basically repeals it.

"The threshold set by Prop 23 is so infeasible that it's not likely to happen," Kropp said.

It's only happened three times since 1980.

Those against Proposition 23 say it would destroy a growing green economy and the chance for more jobs, but supporters say those jobs are just the result of more costly regulations on small business.

Engel says of his 12 trucks, at least half wouldn't meet the tougher emissions standards. He's all in favor of going green, but says now just isn't the time.

"Over the next two years, we have to buy all new trucks or retrofit the trucks with special engine parts which is just a tremendous costs to businesses," Engel said.

What one side calls a polluter's dream the other calls a small business nightmare.

Prop 23 is also likely to become a factor in our governor's race. Whoever gets elected will have the power to suspend A.B. 32, regardless of whether the proposition passes. Generally, Meg Whitman supports Prop 23 while Jerry Brown is against it.

So far, Two Texas-based oil companies have donated more than $4 million to support Proposition 23. Opponents have raised a little more than half that amount.

 

 

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A golden eagle is back home in the wild tonight after spending the past six months recovering from injuries.

The male eagle, which Pacific Wildlife Care experts estimate is a few years old, was found in February on Highway 101 near the Santa Margarita off-ramp with head trauma and a bloody eye.

John Green was driving southbound on the highway when he spotted the eagle in the fast lane.

He quickly returned to save the bird and called PWC.

The eagle was at least three pounds underweight and had injuries experts say could have been fatal.

The eagle did not tolerate captivity well and caused damage to his breastbone and feet by throwing himself against the walls of his age.

He's been transferred to several facilities since February because of captivity-related injuries.

He was, however, given the green light by his veterinarian at the UC Davis Raptor Center and finally released this afternoon on the Salinas River in Santa Margarita.

Watch KSBY News at 6 p.m. for more on this story.

 

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